The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education announced on Saturday that the Class X and Class XII board examinations will start from June 1, with strict adherence to Covid-19 guidelines.

The Madhyamik (Clas X) examinations will continue till June 10, an official said.

“We have uploaded the details of the schedule for the 2021 Madhyamik (secondary) exams on our website. The examinations will be held with strict adherence to Covid protocols,” he said.

The board exams, Madhyamik and Ucchyamadhyamik, are usually held between February and March every year, but the pandemic has deferred the schedule in 2021.

The Ucchyamadhyamik exams will begin from June 15.

The state government had on Wednesday announced that the secondary and higher secondary (class XII) exams would be held one after another in June next year.

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ had earlier ruled out conducting board examinations for class 10 and 12 till February next year in view of the Covid- 19 situation.

State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Saturday said that though the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education has already announced the dates of the board exams, authorities have been asked not to hold any test on June 30 on the occasion of ‘Hul Diwas’.

Hul Diwas is observed annually on June 30 in memory of tribals - Sidho and Kanhu Murmu -who led the Santhal hul (rebellion) on June 30, 1855.

Asked about the possibility of reopening schools and colleges, Chatterjee said, “The Covid-19 situation in the state is under control now. We will take an appropriate decision at the right time.”

The educational institutes in the state have been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic and the authorities of schools, colleges and universities have made arrangements for online classes.